Novel explores Jewish experience during Russian Civil War

The story was part of Ben Frank's family history: His aunt, at 17, traveled alone from Russia to Canada to find her father, who had stopped sending letters.

She left Odessa in 1917, right after the Russian Revolution, and took the new Trans-Siberian Railway across the country, encountering beggars, violence and hunger. And finding love.

A family that was supposed to travel with her did not show up, so she made the lengthy journey alone.

Frank, a travel writer and retired public relations executive from Boynton Beach, knew little more than the basics of the tale. But it has intrigued him all his life. Ten years ago, he traced his Aunt Clara Rasputnis' adventure, traveling to Odessa, Kiev, Moscow, Irkutsk, Kharbarovsk, Harbin (Manchuria), Vladivostok, Tokyo, Yokohama, Seattle and Vancouver.

Now, the family story has been transformed into a book: "Klara's Journey," a 222-page historical novel that will be released next month by Marion Street Press.

Frank, 79, said travel writing came more easily to him than writing this novel, which required dialogue, character development and period details that had to be accurate. To make sure he captured the mood of the time, Frank took creative writing courses, read classic Russian novels and watched movies about the Russian Civil War, which lasted from 1917 to 1922.

"I didn't want just a love story or a page-turner," Frank said. "I wanted it to be educational."

Before the novel, Frank published several books on Jewish travel, favoring exotic destinations on uncharted paths, including "A Travel Guide to the Jewish Caribbean and South America." His most recent guide, "The Scattered Tribe: Traveling the Diaspora from Cuba to India to Tahiti & Beyond," described Jewish sites in locales including Vietnam, Morocco, Algeria and Myanmar.

Frank said he has been to 88 countries. But preparing to write the novel by taking the Trans-Siberian Railway was not just one of his many worldly adventures; it had special meaning as he imagined his aunt and her odyssey across continents.

"It opened a whole new world for me, although I had been to Moscow and Kiev before," he said. "It's not what you picture, with the ice and blizzards. There are built-up cities and towns. People share their food on the train. You see lots of different ethnic groups, especially in Vladivostok, which is a cosmopolitan city."

The novel alternates the experiences of family members as they try to survive through turbulent times. Klara meets a Russian soldier and falls in love; her father, Gershon, deserts the family and starts a new life in Winnipeg. To familiarize readers with the complicated interest groups and intriguing personalities of the time, several chapters begin with a short history of American immigration or Russia in the early 20th century.

Frank said he hopes the novel appeals to all age groups.

"It's for anybody who is the child or grandchild or great-grandchild of immigrants," Frank said. "Someone along the way struggled to get here."